Seafoam //Completed//

Chapter 24

Hey guys! So I'm about to try something out on you guys and would love your feedback on this. I have been thinking a lot about the direction of this story and most of the YA I've read tells the story in first person, through the MC's eyes directly, but here, I tell the story through third limited POV. For this chapter I changed it up a bit and wrote it in Lulu's first person POV. I am not sure if I want the whole story to be first or to keep it in third but this is just a trial chapter lol the rest of the story will be written in third, but I would love to hear your opinions on this! Thanks so much in advance! 

If you enjoy the chapter, please be sure to vote and comment! Love you guys!

-Irazema

The room was getting colder by the minute. We had moved into the shower room to be closer to the window to keep track of the storm. I sat on the floor, atop a makeshift bed Zac and I had created using gym mats we found in the coach's office. I wrapped my arms around myself trying to keep warm but the cold was in my bones now. My teeth were chattering so loud I was sure Zac could hear me from his spot on the floor next to me, on his own bed. Outside, the clouds had parted to let the moon shine but the rain was still coming down strong.

"What time is it?" Zac's voice was low, almost pained.

I checked the phone and read 1:37 a.m. on the clock.

When I told him, he sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. "Feels a lot longer than three hours doesn't it?"

Through the dim in the room, I could see Zac didn't look too well. "Zac, you look really pale. Are you okay?"

"Just a little cold," he breathed, a cloud of his breath forming in the air in front of him.

"Hey, you remember that first day we met?" I shifted in my seat to hear him better.

"I remember," I replied a little embarrassed. We'd never discussed it before and right now, when I couldn't run away and hide in shame, seemed like a less than ideal time to talk about it. "You caught me from falling."

"A fall which you blamed me for," he pointed out.

I rolled my eyes but didn't answer.

"It was stupid. But you hated me since then," he continued.

I let his words fall away and it was quiet then; the only sounds, that of the thunder pounding through the pouring rain. Looking up at him, I could see his shoulders hunched a little, his body resting on the tiled wall of the shower room. With his expression unguarded, the usual smirk on his face gone, he looked a lot younger. There was something about his soft features now that seemed terribly familiar, but I wasn't sure how.

"I don't hate you," I whispered finally. "I tried to show you that. To apologize, but..." I shook my head. "Anyway, it was my fault; I was just embarrassed. I thought you were a jerk for knocking me over. I..." I stopped talking, not knowing what else to say but I didn't have to say anything. Zac was nodding, understanding. It was strange to be talking like this so freely, and I feared he would explode at any moment.

"You apologized and I just acted like a dick," he said suddenly. "I'm sorry."

It caught me so off guard that I barked out a laugh, which I tried—and failed—to disguise as a cough. "Uh, why did you do it?"

"It's complicated."

"Seriously, dude?" He couldn't possibly think that would work.

When he didn't answer, I continued to probe.

"What about that day at your house? With the mermaid? Is that complicated too?"

Nervously, he ran his hands through his long hair, and on the back of his hand something caught my attention. He'd painted scales on his hands. When I'd seen him in his black tux, I figured he had foregone the costume theme of the dance, but now I noticed he had pained scales all over his body, even on his face, by his scars.

"All I can say is 'I'm sorry,' Lulu. It's just that when I talk to you, I can't help wanting to just rile you up, for some reason."

"So I bring out the worst in you," I said sadly. It hurt, more than I wanted to admit, to know how much he didn't like me.

"Maybe I just need you to go away or maybe it's because you remind me of someone I once met. Just always so sad."

And just like that my sadness evaporated into a fuming cloud of rage.

"I'm not some wounded animal you found on the side of the road, half dead, Zac! Keep your pity."

"I can hear it in your voice."

"Stop it." My voice bounced around the hollow room. "What is this?" I demanded. "One day you hate me and the next you're nice? Or at least your weird, warped version of nice. You push me away whenever I try to make amends; when I wanted to be friends. But now, you're acting like I need your help, which I don't. I can't keep up."

"I don't know. I'm sort of trying to understand it myself."

"Well it isn't fair." I glared straight ahead, thankful that he couldn't see me. My words alone had conveyed more than I wanted him to know about my feelings. More than I myself wanted to know about how his every actions, every word he spoke to me, shook me to the core. I tripped on everything he said, and felt like I was falling face flat onto the asphalt. He was an earthquake, rippling through my life at different magnitudes. Tonight, he was causing damage.

Magnitude 6, I calculated.

Zac had gone quiet again. So quiet that I was starting to wonder if he had fallen asleep, but when I looked to my left I noticed he was facing forward, shoulders slumped.

"Hey, Zac! Zac, are you okay?" I asked, fear rising in my chest. It seemed to cost him a lot to respond as he barely nodded his head.

I could see him trembling just slightly, his body trying to keep itself warm, but he seemed at the point of passing out. I pushed off my mat and crawled over to his and put my hands on his face, pushing back his long hair. His head dipped heavily as he struggled to maintain consciousness, and the fear inside me swelled.

"Listen to me Zac, you need to focus. Focus on my voice so you can stay awake. Oh, gosh, you're freezing. We're going to lie down now, okay? You need to hug me so you can get warm." 

In his daze, he lifted his hand to my face, tracing a feather-light touch across my features. For a single moment, he seemed to stop breathing, and his lips parted as his fingers continued to trace the contours of my face. I stared back at him, eyes wide, not daring to move, my heart pounding in my chest when his fingers lingered on my lips. And then, the moment passed and he let out a breath, almost like a laugh and nodded. Together we lay down embracing as the wind began to rage around us once again. Zac wrapped his arms around me and I immediately felt his warmth like sunshine and welcomed it breathing in his smoky scent. The cold in my bones slowly seeped out as the storm outside crescendoed. It was raining again and the small window above us was rattling on its hinges, threatening to implode. I felt my grip tighten on Zac, preparing for the storm to finally break through and drown us.